


the masks we slip on

by renard_rouge



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Introspection, Mornings, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:13:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28359879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renard_rouge/pseuds/renard_rouge
Summary: three people seem to know what it's like to hide behind masks.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Chloé Bourgeois
Kudos: 3





	the masks we slip on

**Author's Note:**

> kinda venty for me, and it's just me trying to study these characters and their potential uwu.

_ beep. _

_ beep. _

_ beep- _

you groaned and stopped the alarm with your left hand, already knowing where it's end button. 

as you blink away the sleep from your eyes you turned around to your alarm clock to see what time is it.

5 AM.

way too early for others, but enough for you to prepare yourself for the day.

you sighed and sat up as you scanned your suite.

spotless, empty, spacious.

same as always.

you frowned and readied yourself to shower; by practically dragging yourself from your closet, hastily grabbing clothes you'll wear in the meantime, and dragged yourself to the bathroom.

you're tired and it probably would just be best to sleep away the entire day, but you can't do that.

you have a reputation to uphold.

relief washes over you as the droplets of the shower did.

this is probably only the good part of your morning routine.

as you got out of the bathroom, you checked the time on your alarm clock.

5:48 AM.

you always did tend to get lost in your thoughts while showering.

you called up your butler and ordered breakfast.

eating seems to be the only thing that gives you energy these days.

as he got your food, you gave a curt thank you and headed to the balcony of your suite.

people watching, another part of your morning routine.

due to the day being young, not a lot are out. 

though, that didn't stop you. 

you watch in mute fascination in watching the people who were up at this time.

you watch how some greet the others with such enthusiasm, or how the others seem to exude confidence and brightness.

you long for that kind of attitude; instead, you're stuck with the trope of being the spoiled brat.

sometimes you wonder how long it is for you to finally crumble under the exhaustion of it in front of everyone.

and in morbid curiosity, you wonder how long it is for you to put up with this until you get too tired and just kick the bucket on your own doing.

you don't know how you picked up the act, you don't know why you bully others, you don't know why you're doing what you are doing.

one answer could be your mother but you already know that that answer is such bullshit since you learned the hard way of her not giving a shit about you.

then as always, the answer popped up in your head.

it's because it's easier.

the effort of being nice is hard, especially regarding your behavior.

you're tired of putting in the effort anyway, thanks to mother dearest.

you regret not having self-awareness, you regret not knowing better of your mother's attitude early, you regret being selfish enough to still go through with your attitude.

and with those regrets, you file it away as usual, as you got up from where you sat at the balcony and called room service again to pick up your breakfast.

you looked at the clock, 

7:02 AM.

you sighed and went to your closet to try and make up what you'll wear today.

you honestly don't care about what you wear and don't care about what others think, but a reputation is a must, and so you picked up the outfit that seems to be fashionable and extravagant.

the color? yellow, of course.

you went up to your makeup station to put on the same old makeup and tied your hair to your signature high ponytail.

as you finished you looked straight at the eyes of your reflection.

tired; is what you could explain of what your eyes bore. 

you then plastered on your scowl and furrowed your brows in annoyance.

"dupain-cheng."

then, you plastered on a sweet smile that some could pick out that's fake.

"daddy wouldn't like this."

and finally, you held your head high and sniffed haughtily.

"i'm chloé bourgeois, and you're just a peasant."

you huffed and finally gave off an expression that's genuine, a soft small smile, "perfect, no one would suspect a thing."

"mademoiselle, the limousine's ready."

you turned your head to jean, "thanks, i'll be there in a minute."

he gave a small smile, and you returned it as well. 

as your butler left, you sighed and grabbed your bag.

leaving your room, you swiftly got into an elevator and pushed the button for the first floor.

you sighed for the umpteenth time and grumbled,

"same shit, different day."

* * *

you woke up in heavy sweat, eyes wide as you tried to catch your breath.

it's the same nightmare again.

you know you won't let it happen, you won't let hawkmoth win, you won't let your friends die, you won't let ladybug die-

you squeezed your eyes shut.

inhale,

exhale.

inhale,

exhale.

inhale...

exhale.

you opened your eyes and sighed.

it's routine now.

you always had nightmares ever since your mom went missing, and that also doubled when you got the miraculous.

you know you should tell your friends, but you don't wanna alarm them.

you don't wanna burden them— _ you feel the familiar tightness on your chest and decided to change the subject _ —besides, you have chloé.

chloé, who's not what she seems at school. chloé, whose always there for you. chloé, whose knows this side of you.

and maybe their friendship is unhealthy, since they both bond over dysfunctional families, over being broken, over masks.

but you don't care, and she doesn't either, and for that you're grateful.

it's fucked up, but it's what they got.

it still sucks though to hear people badmouth your best friend, but since chloé doesn't mind, you try to not mind it.

doesn't stop you from trying to defend her sometimes though.

and yeah, she scolded you already over the matter, but you just can't let degrade your sister like that.

it's comforting knowing that they both regard themselves as siblings.

you shudder when you remember her act.

makes the situation at school weird though.

you glanced at the bedside table and grabbed your phone to see what time it is.

4:56 AM.

you winced at that.

you know you should try and go back to sleep, but you have too many nightmares to realize that you can't anyway.

and so you just...stared at your window.

stared at the blue sky.

your mother was always a morning person.

you glanced away and decided to just stare at the ceiling.

it would've been a great time to be chat noir and feel the cold wind rush through your hair and face as you jump from building to building so you could also practice your parkour skills and baton skills but the faint snoring reminds you that plagg is sleeping.

damnit, you only need to sleep and you can't even do that right.

you frowned as you felt the same churn on your chest.

it hurts.

it always hurts.

ironically, it's one of those things both you and chloé seem to share.

you chuckled humorlessly at the thought and lifted your left arm to cover your eyes.

maybe...this time you could—

_ beep. _

_ beep.  _

_ beep- _

you grabbed your phone and swiftly ended the alarm, you were awake before it went off anyway.

you sighed and sat up, guess you need to start the day.

you glanced at your phone.

6 AM.

that means you wasted an hour by doing nothing.

you groaned and you could see in your peripheral vision of a certain black kwami, whose expression is contorted into concern.

"morning, plagg."

"...morning, kiddo."

you know he's worried, but you don't seem to care to ease his worries anymore. 

he should've been used to it by now anyway.

you went to your closet and seemed to grab on to what's next to you and got to your bathroom.

at least the shower seems to drown out some of the thoughts away.

finished showering, you toweled your wet hair to at least make it somewhat dry then you hastily put on your clothes.

you glanced at the mirror and tidied your clothes, and then you stared at your face.

a frown, faint eyebags, and eyes that seem to be empty.

you pursed your lips then plastered on a smile.

you nodded to yourself, the mask is up.

as you got out of the bathroom, you heard the familiar sharp knocking on your door.

making sure that the cat kwami is safely tucked in your pocket, you went to the door and you're met with nathalie.

"hello, adrien. i hope your ready for school."

"i am."

she gave a nod then the both of you began to walk, leaving to go to school.

as you know no one's watching, you let your mask slip for a bit.

* * *

"marinette! you're gonna be late again!"

you woke up, frazzled. 

as you sat up abruptly, you felt pain bloom on the top of your head.

"fuck!"

you hissed and rubbed where the pain was. 

you bumped your head on the headboard of the bed,  _ again _ .

a bloom of anger is felt once again.

as you slowly opened your eyes, you were met with a disappointed look from your kwami.

your anger seems to grow because of that.

you rolled your eyes, "no one is here anyway."

"still, marinette, that's not a good language to use."

"oh, whatever—shit—i really need to have a new alarm sound!"

you frantically went out of the bed, catching yourself before you fell to the floor, and hastily went to your closet.

as you got your clothes you went to the bathroom and already started the shower, quickly removing your clothes.

as you did everything, you point out your mistakes under your breath.

"god—fuck—damnit, why do i always do this!?"

and every time you did, your anger seems to grow.

well, you always had unresolved anger issues.

the shower did little to soothe your anger since you also had a particular blonde in your mind while doing so.

"damnit, i'm gonna get fucking insulted by that bratty bitch again!"

as you finished showering, you hastily put on your clothes and looked at the mirror to at least make yourself look like it wasn't put on at the last minute.

it was, but you need to be presentable.

as you deemed yourself presentable, you took a glance at your expression.

brows furrowed, a scowl in place, and eyes blazed in fury.

and by that, you got the chance to cool yourself down.

with deep breaths, your anger seems to simmer down, so you flashed a smile at your reflection.

you don't want to snap at anyone, so you always kept your anger down.

keeping it down, though, seems to be a herculean task since you have a knack to be angry at everything nowadays. angry; at your clumsiness, at your need to be perfect, at you being a superhero, at your guardian for choosing teenagers to be superheroes, and mostly, at yourself, because you seem to not keep up with it.

you sighed as you went out of the bathroom, heading to your bag first as you swiftly scanned for anything that you might need for school.

satisfied that everything is in your backpack, you slipped it on your back and went your way to school.

besides, you need to keep up with the reputation to be the peppy and bubbly class representative, not the angry, grumpy one!

* * *

marinette got to her classroom, surprisingly before the bell starts, slipping in the seat next to her best friend, alya.

alya, who noticed her presence, smiled and greeted, "hey, girl! you seem to be early today."

"wow! what a shocker! dupain-cheng? early? ha!" chloé scoffed, hearing what alya said.

marinette seemed close to blowing a fuse but alya retorted back, not wanting the girl to snap, "can you mind your own business, brat?"

that seemed to appease choé as she rolled her eyes and went back to chatting with sabrina. in chloé's thoughts though, she seemed glad that she made herself known for the day as the bitch of the class.

the baker's daughter sighed in relief and gave a smile to her friend, "thanks, i don't really wanna start a fight, but you know how my anger can be."

"oh it's no problem, mari," the brunette replied, knowing how hotheaded her friend can be. which might be surprising for others if they ever find out that the star student has anger issues, considering how she seems to be bubbly in public.

"hey guys!" adrien said, with a smile as he sat on his assigned seat. sadly, no one knows it's a fake smile, well except for a certain blonde.

"h-hey, adrien!"

"heya, adrien!"

with adrien's greeting, chloé turned to face adrien with a silent question on her face. to others, it might seem like chloé just checking him out, but adrien knows the truth.

adrien just pursed his lips and avoided chloé's gaze, and by that chloé already knew that he had a nightmare. the blonde frowned and made a silent note in her mind to have a sleepover later with sabrina and adrien.

with marinette seeing the exchange, her eyes narrowed and thought of the worst. she was about to open her mouth to ask adrien what was that but was cut off when mme. bustier got into the classroom and started the school day.

overall, a normal day for everyone, with three people with masks that is unknown to everyone.


End file.
